NAPLES, Fla. — Leona Maguire of Eire had 4 straight birdies across the flip and added a pair of birdies late for a 9-under 63, permitting her to catch Lydia Ko within the CME Group Tour Championship and arrange a duel for the richest prize in ladies’s golf.
At stake on Sunday at Tiburon Golf Membership is $2 million to the winner.
Maguire, certainly one of 11 first-time winners on the LPGA Tour this yr, is simply too far again within the factors race to win LPGA participant of the yr, although $2 million in a single day would make up for that. That may be almost twice what Maguire has made in 23 earlier occasions.
Ko had a 5-shot result in begin the third spherical — 7 pictures forward of Maguire — and made a mix of birdies and bogeys that stalled her spherical. She fell a shot behind Maguire till chipping to tap-in vary on the par-5 seventeenth. She completed with a 70.
They had been at 15-under 201 in what formed up as a two-player race for the $2 million.
Nobody else was nearer than 5 pictures to them. Former U.S. Ladies’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 had a 68 and Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland had a 69. They had been at 206.
The forecast for Sunday was for rain and 20 mph (32 kph) gusts.
“Nothing I am not used to from Eire,” Maguire stated when she completed her spherical. “We’ll see the place Lydia will get on the finish of the day, however finally simply exit and play in addition to I probably can, and particularly if there’s dangerous climate, that is all you possibly can management. Trying ahead to at least one final stroll of the season tomorrow.”
Brooke Henderson saved her slim hopes alive for participant of the yr. The Canadian, who needed to withdraw final week with a again damage, had two eagles in her spherical of 65 and was at 9-under 207.
Henderson should win the CME Group Tour Championship and have Ko end third or worse to win participant of the yr.
“If I might have one other day like this tomorrow, that may be very nice,” she stated.
Ko got here into the week with a one-point benefit over Minjee Lee for participant of the yr. Lee, the Australian who received the U.S. Ladies’s Open and leads the LPGA cash checklist, has fallen 9 pictures behind and is all however sure to be eradicated.
Ko is a lock to win the Vare Trophy for having the bottom scoring common. A victory would ship her season earnings to over $4.3 million.
Nelly Korda, who received final week at Pelican Golf Membership, needed to birdie her final three holes for a 73 that left her 9 pictures out of the lead.
